East Lancashire derby

The East Lancashire Derby is a football match between Blackburn Rovers F.C. and Burnley F.C.. There is an obivous geographical reason for the rivalry as the two Lancashire towns are only a few miles apart. Accrington Stanley F.C. stands in the middle, but is not taken seriously as a rival by either. The two teams along with Preston North End F.C. and Blackpool F.C. are considered the Big Four of Lancashire.

Some Rovers fans consider Manchester United to be their arch rivals following the title races of the mid-nineties and the limited number of recent contests between Blackburn and Burnley. However, most Rovers fans consider Burnley their "arch enemy" due to the historic rivalry and local workplace banter which drives this famous rivalry.

The East Lancashire Derby is one of the oldest derby matches in the game. The first ever competitive league match between these two former English football champions and founder members of the Football League, took place at Turf Moor on 3rd November 1888, Blackburn won the game 7-1. Blackburn also won the return fixture at Ewood Park 4-2.

In the last meeting of the two sides, in a FA Cup 5th round replay on 1 March 2005, Blackburn came out on top beating Burnley 2-1 thanks to goals from Tugay Kerimoğlu and Morten Gamst Pedersen with Micah Hyde scoring Burnley's goal.

tatistics

Total Matches

Over the years, the two clubs have played 91 competitive matches against one another.
*Blackburn have won 37 of them
*Burnley have won 39 of them
*There have been 15 draws

Highest Wins

Blackburn's biggest win over Burnley was also their first, winning 7-1 in 1888. Their highest scoring match over Burnley was a victory of 8-3 in the 1929/30 season.

Burnley's biggest win over Blackburn, and also their highest scoring match was a 6-0 win in the 1895/96 season.